Pacific Statement on Mine Action
Statement delivered by Solomon Islands on behalf of Pacific Islands Forum states
23 October 2025
I deliver this statement on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum Group based in New York that are states party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and my own country, Solomon Islands.
Anti-personnel mines continue to cause long-term human suffering and pose a grave threat to countries during and after conflict. They kill and maim civilians, often children, and impact land use and reconstruction long after the end of hostilities.
The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention was born out of a collective determination to address the humanitarian impact and unacceptable harm to civilians caused by use of these weapons.
Since it came into effect, the Convention has delivered remarkable achievements for the international community. The Convention has brought about the destruction of over 55 million stockpiled landmines. Large-scale clearance operations have rendered land safe for civilians.
The Convention has provided a platform for survivors to ensure their voices are heard and has enabled landmine victims access to medical assistance and rehabilitation. There has also been a significant decline in the number of countries producing landmines from over 50 to fewer than 10.
Our region, the Pacific, has long supported the Convention since the campaign to ban anti-personnel landmines and the Ottawa process, and we think now is a time to strengthen the call for a world without anti-personnel landmines.
The Pacific understands the critical value of mine action work. Many of our nations remain contaminated by explosive remnants from battles fought during WWII and the presence of explosive ordnance around communities constitutes a terrifying legacy of the past conflict. This is not only because of the harm they cause to life and limb, but also because of their presence across lands, paths, forests, the ocean, and infrastructure. Moreover, they cause harm to ecosystems, including loss of biodiversity, soil degradation and water contamination, with a negative impact on the realization of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The presence of ERW prevents development: it stops land from being farmed and new schools and homes from being built.
We call on the international community to work with the Pacific in the removal and clearance of ERW, as well as on the continued development and support for victim rehabilitation programs covering employment, psychosocial and medical assistance. We emphasize the importance of ensuring survivors’ full social and economic inclusion and involving them directly in decision-making processes.
The Pacific region’s commitment to the Convention can be seen in its near universalisation, with the Republic of the Marshall Islands becoming the 165th, and Tonga the 166th states to join the Convention this year. The Federated States of Micronesia are also moving in a positive direction towards accession. We will continue to work together towards universalisation in our region.
Aligning with our region’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, on 12 September 2025 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders declared the Pacific as an Ocean of Peace and reaffirmed our collective commitment to address hazards posed by UXOs and other remnants of war, recognising the multidimensional threat they pose to sovereignty, human security, environment and economic development in the Pacific.
Recent geopolitical developments underscore the need to redouble our efforts to uphold the objectives of the Convention to protect lives and put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines.
We reaffirm our countries’ commitment to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and to the shared goal of a safer world free of these weapons. We commit to work with states parties and other stakeholders on implementation of the Siem Reap-Angkor Action Plan adopted at the Review Conference in November 2024. We hope the positive direction in which our region is moving can serve as an impetus and inspiration for other regions, and for the world.